Apparatus with a sensor assembly and a stray light baffle

ABSTRACT

An apparatus includes a sensor assembly and a stray light baffle, and is to be mounted behind a pane, e.g. a windshield, inside a vehicle. The sensor assembly includes a first sensor and a second sensor. The stray light baffle is arranged substantially in front of the first sensor, in the capture direction of the sensors. The stray light baffle includes first and second side walls. The second side wall is a frame with a fabric covering, and is arranged in front of the second sensor with the sensing axis of the second sensor passing through the fabric.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation under 35 USC 120 of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/359,466 filed Mar. 20, 2019 and issued as U.S.Pat. No. 10,620,308 on Apr. 14, 2020. All disclosures of the priorapplication are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an apparatus with a sensor assembly and a straylight baffle.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Systems in which, for example, a radar sensor is arranged outside of,i.e., next to, above or below, the stray light baffle needed for thecamera are known from the prior art. Further, in sensors which arecombined in this way stray light baffles are known which have beenincreased in width so that the radar antenna can also be positioneddirectly next to the camera without being influenced by interferingsurfaces (e.g., zigzag profile or edges) of the stray light baffle.

Further, DE102015210464A1 discloses a housing for a radar sensor and anoptical sensor, wherein one housing wall has a layer which attenuatesradar waves and one housing wall has layer which reflects radar waves.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus whichhas a sensor assembly and a stray light baffle, which has a compactconstruction and reduces interfering influences on the utilized sensors.

This object can be achieved by the subject matter of the invention setforth herein.

Initial considerations were to the effect that a large installationspace is required in the previously known solutions, particularly whenwide-angle cameras (>100° field of view, FoV) are used as is required,e.g., for high performance in the car safety assessment according to theEuro NCAP 2018/2020 (European New Car Assessment Program). For example,the size of a stray light baffle for a combined sensor consisting of a90° radar and a 110° camera with a joint enlarged stray light bafflewould be up to 50 cm. For reasons pertaining to obscured view anddesign, large apparatuses of this kind are generally not acceptable forthe front windshield. Therefore, according to the invention, anapparatus is suggested which comprises a sensor assembly and a straylight baffle, wherein the apparatus is mountable inside of a vehicle ona pane, in particular a windshield, wherein the sensor assembly has afirst sensor and a second sensor, wherein the stray light baffle isarranged substantially in front of the first sensor in the capturedirection of the sensors at the sensor assembly, wherein the stray lightbaffle has a first side wall and a second side wall, wherein the firstside wall is made of a plastics material and the second side wall is aframe with a fabric covering, and wherein the second side wall isarranged in front of the second sensor.

“Arranged substantially in front of the first sensor” means that thestray light baffle is arranged in front of the first sensor is such thatthe first side wall and the second side wall extend to the left and tothe right, respectively, of the first sensor. Alternatively, it wouldalso be possible to configure both side walls as frame with a fabriccovering.

Particularly preferably, the first sensor is an optical sensor, inparticular a camera. It is furthermore preferable that the second sensoris a radar sensor.

The stray light baffle is required only for the optical sensor and,therefore, needs to have an opening only for this sensor. The secondsensor which is preferably a radar sensor can be located behind a sidewall of the stray light baffle. However, in order to preventinterference with the second sensor, the second side wall is configuredas a frame with a fabric covering because, for example, only anegligibly small attenuation of radar waves, if any, occurs as a resultof the fabric. A configuration of this kind is particularly advantageousbecause, in this way, the installation space need not be enlargedcompared to an individual optical sensor with stray light baffle, andboth sensors are nevertheless functional.

In a further particularly preferred embodiment, the radar sensor and theoptical sensor are arranged next to one another in the horizontaldirection. An arrangement of this kind is advantageous with respect tothe design of the stray light baffle and with respect to the mounting ona windshield, since a vertical arrangement of the sensors would extendtoo far into the vision field of a driver on the one hand and, on theother hand, would negatively influence the shape of the stray lightbaffle, which would make the mounting on a windshield more difficult.

It is furthermore preferable that the fabric of the fabric covering is avelvet. It is known from older designs of stray light baffles forcameras that velvet as surface, in place of specially shaped plasticsprofiles, also meets optical requirements. In addition, velvet has nosignificant attenuation for radar radiation. Accordingly, the secondside wall, which is covered with the fabric or velvet, can also bearranged in front of a radar sensor without influencing its functioning.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantageous configurations follow from the accompanyingdrawings. The drawings show:

FIG. 1 a top view of an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 2 a side view of an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a top view of an embodiment of the invention. Thisdepiction shows an apparatus 1 with a sensor assembly 2. The sensorassembly 2 has a camera 2.1 as a first sensor and a radar sensor 2.2 asa second sensor. These two sensors 2.1, 2.2 are arranged next to oneanother in the horizontal direction. Further, a stray light baffle 3 isarranged in front of the camera 2.1 in the capture direction (E), e.g.as defined by a sensing axis E of the camera 2.1. The stray light baffle3 has an opening 3.4 for the camera 2.1. The stray light baffle furthercomprises a first side wall 3.1 and a second side wall 3.2 and an upperside 3.3 and a lower side (not shown here). The first side wall 3.1 canbe produced from a plastics material.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of an embodiment of the invention. In thiscase, the sensor assembly 2 is shown with a radar sensor 2.2. The camera2.1 is not visible in this view. The second side wall 3.2 of the straylight baffle 3 is also shown, wherein, in this embodiment, the secondside wall 3.2 is a frame 4 with a fabric covering 5. As is shown, thestray light baffle 3 is shaped such that it is mountable on a windshield6 of a vehicle (not shown here).

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 understood in connection with the abovedescription, both sensors 2.1 and 2.2 have their respective sensing axesor capture directions E facing forward through the windshield 6. Thesensing axis or capture direction E of the first sensor (camera sensor)2.1 extends from the first sensor forwardly through the opening 3.4,thence through a space between the two side walls 3.1 and 3.2 of thestray light baffle 3, and thence through a front aperture of the straylight baffle 3 bounded between the two side walls. The sensing axis orcapture direction (not illustrated) of the second sensor (radar sensor)2.2 extends from the second sensor forwardly through only the fabriccovering 5 and not the frame 4 of the second side wall 3.2, thencethrough the space between the two side walls, and thence through thefront aperture of the stray light baffle 3. The frame 4 forms only aperiphery of the second side wall 3.2, the fabric covering 5 spans theframe 4 to cover a central area bounded by the frame 4 around theperiphery of the second side wall 3.2, and the central area of thesecond side wall 3.2 consists of only the fabric covering 5.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   1 apparatus-   2 sensor assembly-   2.1 first sensor-   2.2 second sensor-   3 stray light baffle-   3.1 first side wall-   3.2 second side wall-   3.3 upper side-   3.4 opening-   4 frame-   5 fabric covering-   6 windshield-   E capture direction

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising a sensor assembly and astray light baffle, wherein: the apparatus is configured and adapted tobe mounted inside of a vehicle on a pane; the sensor assembly includes afirst sensor and a second sensor; the stray light baffle is arrangedsubstantially in front of the first sensor in a capture direction of thesensors; the stray light baffle includes a first side wall and a secondside wall; the second side wall comprises a perimeter frame and a fabricthat spans and is peripherally supported by the perimeter frame; thesecond side wall is arranged in front of the second sensor with asensing axis of the second sensor passing through the fabric of thesecond side wall; and the sensing axis of the second sensor extends fromthe second sensor forwardly through only the fabric and not theperimeter frame of the second side wall, thence through a space betweenthe first and second side walls, and thence through a front aperture ofthe stray light baffle bounded between the first and second side walls.2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first side wallcomprises another perimeter frame and another fabric that spans and isperipherally supported by the another perimeter frame.
 3. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the first sensor is an optical sensor. 4.The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second sensor is a radarsensor.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the radar sensorand the optical sensor are arranged next to one another in a horizontaldirection.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fabric ofthe second side wall is a velvet fabric.
 7. The apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the pane is a windshield of the vehicle.
 8. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second sensor is a radarsensor.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, configured so that thesensing axis of the second sensor and a sensing axis of the first sensorare both oriented facing forward through the pane when the apparatus ismounted inside of the vehicle on the pane.
 10. A sensor apparatusconfigured and adapted to be mounted behind a windshield inside avehicle, said sensor apparatus comprising: an optical sensor configuredwith a sensing axis thereof to be oriented through the windshield whenthe sensor apparatus is mounted inside the vehicle; a radar sensorarranged next to the optical sensor, and configured with a sensing axisthereof to be oriented through the windshield when the sensor apparatusis mounted inside the vehicle; and a stray light baffle comprising firstand second side walls that extend forwardly from the optical sensor anddiverge obliquely from one another on opposite sides of the sensing axisof the optical sensor, to a front aperture of the stray light baffledefined between the first and second side walls; wherein the second sidewall comprises a perimeter frame and a fabric that spans and isperipherally supported by the perimeter frame, wherein the radar sensoris arranged with the sensing axis thereof extending through the fabricof the second side wall and through the front aperture of the straylight baffle, and wherein the sensor apparatus comprises at least onefeature selected from the group consisting of: a first feature whereinthe sensing axis of the radar sensor extends from the radar sensorforwardly through only the fabric and not the perimeter frame of thesecond side wall, thence through a space between the first and secondside walls, and thence through the front aperture of the stray lightbaffle, a second feature wherein the perimeter frame forms only aperiphery of the second side wall, the fabric spans the perimeter frameto cover a central area bounded by the perimeter frame around theperiphery of the second side wall, and the central area of the secondside wall consists of only the fabric, and a third feature wherein onlythe fabric of the second side wall is arranged in front of andintersecting the sensing axis of the radar sensor.
 11. The sensorapparatus according to claim 10, wherein the first side wall comprisesanother perimeter frame and another fabric that spans and isperipherally supported by the another perimeter frame.
 12. The sensorapparatus according to claim 10, wherein the optical sensor is anoptical sensor of a wide angle camera.
 13. The sensor apparatusaccording to claim 12, wherein the wide angle camera has a field of viewgreater than 100°.
 14. The sensor apparatus according to claim 10,wherein the fabric of the second side wall is a flat sheet of velvet.15. The sensor apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the radar sensoris arranged entirely behind the second side wall of the stray lightbaffle with respect to a forward direction defined along the sensingaxis from the optical sensor to the front aperture of the stray lightbaffle.
 16. The sensor apparatus according to claim 10, comprising thefirst feature.
 17. The sensor apparatus according to claim 10,comprising the second feature.
 18. The sensor apparatus according toclaim 10, comprising the third feature.
 19. An apparatus comprising asensor assembly and a stray light baffle, wherein: the apparatus isconfigured and adapted to be mounted inside of a vehicle on a pane; thesensor assembly includes a first sensor and a second sensor; the straylight baffle is arranged substantially in front of the first sensor in acapture direction of the sensors; the stray light baffle includes afirst side wall and a second side wall; the second side wall comprises aperimeter frame and a fabric that spans and is peripherally supported bythe perimeter frame; the second side wall is arranged in front of thesecond sensor with a sensing axis of the second sensor passing throughthe fabric of the second side wall; and the apparatus comprises at leastone feature selected from the group consisting of: a first featurewherein the perimeter frame forms only a periphery of the second sidewall, the fabric spans the perimeter frame to cover a central areabounded by the perimeter frame around the periphery of the second sidewall, and the central area of the second side wall consists of only thefabric, and a second feature wherein only the fabric of the second sidewall is arranged in front of and intersecting the sensing axis of thesecond sensor.
 20. The apparatus according to claim 19, comprising thefirst feature.
 21. The apparatus according to claim 19, comprising thesecond feature.